Lucky Or Unlucky
by Crystal Cavern
Summary: Coal is a black cat. Not a bit of black. Pure black. Because of that, bad things center around him, and he blames himself. You try surviving when you are constantly on the run from the one thing that you can never escape: Yourself. Is he lucky or unlucky?


**Lucky or Unlucky**

Hello, everyone! Crystal Cavern here. Today I just got this really good idea, and I just had to write it down! Black cats are considered unlucky if one crosses your path, but what about their own lives? Do they have bad luck? I don't really know, since I can't speak cat, but this is the story of Coal, a black cat. I don't believe in the superstition, but I know many people who do. It will be nice to see how this story turns out. And of course, it also has something to do with the clans. Or, to be more specific, _a_ clan. But which one… Hmmm… I wonder…

The following is important: you may or may not understand how this connects to the clans until later in the story, but trust me, it does.

One more thing: I update when you review! So please review!

~Crystal Cavern

Chapter 1: Unfortunate Me

He ran.

He ran because he was chased. Chased by a pack of rogue cats. They weren't too nice. They spat at him. They spat as if there was no tomorrow. They didn't care about him. They pretended he was some horrid beast, some idiot. He would have protested at this, but there was one problem. _I can't remember. _He thought._ I can't remember who I am._

He ran into a fence. He ran straight into it. Face first. He stumbled and fell backwards onto the fresh cut garden grass and panted. His little pink nose throbbed. _It hurts, _he thought.

Three cats towered over him. The pale golden she-cat with torturing green eyes snickered. "Look at you, Coal! You can't even turn! You're pitiful!"

The tom next to her laughed. "You're an idiot! That's why you can never become one of us!"

The third cat, a tom, was more serious then the first two. "Get out. We don't want you here. Ever. Why would be ever let a five moon old kit join us? You're useless. And not only that."

The little kit flattened himself onto the grass and his fear scent reached the three other cats. They smelled this and but still didn't seem satisfied. The three rogues continued hurling insults at him. Every word was hissed directly at him. _It not fair. _He thought._ It's not fair…_

The she-cat glared at him, all her humor gone. "All you bring is misfortune. Coal, you are not welcome here. There is no place for you here. There is no place for you anywhere."

"Wh-why?" Coal stammered. Just as the words tumbled out of his mouth, he regretted them. He felt as if he was useless. He was an idiot. He was bad news. Nobody wanted him. Nobody cared about him. That's why.

The she-cat's next words stabbed Coal. "Because you have a black pelt. Black cats are bad luck. We don't want anything to do with you."

Coal looked down at his paws. Rage showed in the rouges' eyes_. Now I know who I am, _he thought._ I am Coal. I am misfortune. I have black fur. I have nowhere to go._

One of the toms snarled at him. "Leave! Or I'll claw out your eyes! And that's not a threat, it's a promise!"

It didn't take long for Coal to make up his mind. He darted out of their sight.

He ran once again. But this time, the run had little meaning. He thought about it. _Before, I ran to get away from the rogues. This time… I am still getting away from something, but I didn't know where to go this time. Well… Last time I didn't know where to go either._ He shook his head to clear it out._ I am so confused. I know my run has less meaning this time, but I don't know why. I don't remember why. Maybe I should just run ahead. If I just run straight head, I'd be able to get somewhere. Somewhere I would be accepted._

Then he remembered the truth. _No. That's not possible._ The she-cat's words thundered and echoed in his ears. _There is no place for me anywhere._

He stopped where he was and panted. He didn't notice he was running so fast until now. _Where do I go?_ He thought.

Just then he heard a honk. He whipped his head towards the sound. To his horror, a monster was coming at full speed towards him. When Coal saw that, he realized that he was on a thunderpath. A horrible, stinking, dirty thunderpath. His heart pounded against his chest, threatening to break out at any moment.

The monster was twenty paces away from him. It made a honking noise again. Coal was so scared that he couldn't even shudder. _Good-bye, cruel world. This is where we part ways._

"Watch it!" A voice called. "The car's coming!"

Coal tried to move but he couldn't. _I can't move! _ He thought to himself. _I'm paralyzed._ Coal stared at the monster with utter grief. His fear scent before was nothing compared to what he was emitting now.

"Come on! Don't just stand there! Duck!"

Coal's instinct made him obey. He flattened himself to the ground and curled into a tight ball as he waited for the impact of crushing paws. _I really am unfortunate. _He thought. _I'm going to die right here. The monster is going to eat me. The smooth-pelts that come out of the monster's belly will take me. I'm so scared… _

The monster zoomed right up to him… Ten tail-lengths… Five tail-lengths… Two tail-lengths… Then it rolled over his tail and sped away.

Coal gave an ear-piercing caterwaul. _My tail hurts. The monster clawed my tail. I think that was my warning. I'd better leave the monster's territory._

Coal tried to get up, but staggered and fell. His tail ached. His nose ached. But his tail hurt more. He tried to move it, but it hurt. It hurt so much that he gave up trying to move it and he let it droop. "It hurts…" He said. "It hurts so much…" _Great…_ Coal thought, bitterly. _First, three rude cats bully me. Second, I hit my nose on a fence. Then, of all places, I end up on a monster's territory. Now, I don't get quick death, but a slow and painful one… I really am unfortunate… I should have just let the monster take me…_

Then Coal remembered. There was that voice… That voice which told him what to do… It was that voice that saved his life. Coal looked around.

He could see a lot of smooth-pelt dens with small clearings full of cut grass, a white structure in one of them that birds hopped in and out of, and a few trees scattered here and there. No cats… _It must have been my conscience. _He thought.

The sound of pawsteps filled his ears. _Now I'm imagining things… I must be crazy…_

"Hey!" The same she-cat's voice filled his ears. _There it is again… I must be dying…_

"Hel-lo? Are you still alive?" Coal looked behind him. There, right in front of him was a pure white she-cat, but her muzzle and ears were grey due to her old age. Her limbs creaked as she padded over to him. "Are you still alive, youngster?" She asked, curiously.

Coal suddenly realized two things. One, he looked the wrong way when he was searching for the voice. Two, he must have looked stupid sprawled on the thunderpath like that. He quickly changed his position. By doing so, he winced.

The she-cat saw it. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Are you in pain, little one?"

"M-my tail hurts…" Coal said.

The she-cat inspected it. When she turned back to Coal, her eyes were sparkling with pity. Coal welcomed it… _It's nice to know someone cares…_ He thought.

"I know it hurts, little one, but please try to bear the pain." The she-cat said. "Now, I don't believe in telling lies, so I'm going to tell you the plain hard truth." _And the highlight of my day is ruined… Stupid black pelt!_ The she-cat continued. "The skin of your tail is broken and there's a lot of blood. You'll have to be careful with it, do you understand?"

Coal nodded.

She gave a sigh of relief. "But you're alive! Oh, I'm so glad! Thank StarClan!" The white she-cat looked around. "Come on –quickly. We have to get off the road." She nudged Coal's rump with her head. "Come, hurry! Before another car comes this way! You might really get killed this time!"

Coal struggled to get up, but his muscles weren't listening to him.

"What's wrong? What else hurts?"

Coal was glad his tongue still worked. "N-nothing… Just my nose…"

"Are you sure?" She eyed him suspiciously for a few moments. Although she seemed like she was waiting for an answer, her gaze silenced Coal. Before Coal summoned the courage to actually _give_ an answer, she grabbed his scruff and started to pull him towards one of the smooth-pelt clearings.

Just as they were almost there, another monster came towards them. The she-cat dropped Coal and spat at him. "Come on! Go! Move!"

Coal tried to, but he couldn't. _Stupid black pelt!_

Meanwhile, the monster got closer.

With her final effort, the kind, white she-cat grabbed Coal by his scruff and tossed Coal onto a patch of cut grass. Coal landed hard on his right shoulder. _It hurts… Why did that she-cat throw me all of a sudden?_

Coal looked back towards the thunderpath. There, was the trampled, blood-soaked body of that used to be the white she-cat.


End file.
